Fifteen women in Sierra Leone well known for performing female circumcision operations collectively declared over the weekend that they are are abandoning the practice "completely."

The Sierra News, the state-owned newspaper said the women made the pledge at a public ceremony that they will now work towards "safeguarding the health of women and girls

Gardasil, the world's first vaccine against cervical cancer may go on sale within weeks. The vaccine has been proven effective against the virus that forms most cervical cancers.

The vaccine is developed by U.S. pharmaceutical company, Merck & Co. Inc. has proven to be 100 percent effective against the two major strains of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)

An estimated 3 million women and girls suffer genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision, every year. The practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) has been going on for centuries, especially in Africa. Now immigrants are bringing the practices to Western countries such as England, and the British police have been working on an awareness campaign this summer - a time, they say, when women who perform FGM are most likely to come to England, or when families have their daughters circumcised by sending them back to their country of origin.

Ensharah Ahmed, community development officer at the UK-based Foundation for Women's Health, Research and Development told Reuters that FGM "is a huge problem in the UK, estimating that about 279,500 women living in England have undergone FGM and another 22,000 girls under 16 are in danger of having the procedure performed on them

A national survey has shown that about 4 million women in Cameroon suffer through the painful process of "breast ironing" by their mother or other relatives. The procedure aimed at preventing sexual harassment involves the use of hard or heated objects being pressed against the budding breasts of little girls.

The procedure for stunting breast growth in girls is a traditional practice in West Africa, and widely spread in the Central African country

The issue whether girls as young as 9 years old should take a vaccine against HPV and other sexually transmitted diseases will be decided by a panel on Thursday.

Gardasil, the first known vaccine to prevent cancer costs $360 for a three-time dose. Studies have revealed that inoculation is effective in protecting against cervical cancer and genital warts